1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a restraint assembly and, more particularly, to a restraint assembly adapted for use in combination with an aircraft ejector seat so as to restrain the movement of an occupant's arms and head during an ejection sequence.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Ejection seats for use in aircrafts are widely known in the art. A problem has been encountered in the prior art wherein if the occupants's limbs are spread away from the occupant's body during an ejection sequence, serious injuries, including loss of the limbs, can occur as the seat is propelled out of the aircraft.
This problem has been recognized in the prior art and attempts have been made to solve the problem by incorporating a restraint assembly having straps secured to each of the occupant's arms and legs which are tightened during an ejection sequence so that the occupant's limbs are drawn close to the body of the occupant. An example of such a prior art device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,384.
Such a prior art arrangement has various undesirable characteristics. For instance, it can be difficult to secure the straps to each of the occupant's arms without assistance. In addition, the straps must accommodate, without hindering, all necessary movements of the occupant's limbs. Finally, in practice, it has been found that such systems are cumbersome.
It has also been proposed in the prior art to incorporate arm restraining net systems on ejector seats as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,081,156, 4,215,835 and 4,592,523. Unfortunately, these known systems fail to solve the problem associated with the prior art in a completely effective and cost-efficient manner. For instance, the arm restraining net systems in '156 and '835 patents not only require additional structural changes to the ejector seat itself in order to shift the arm restraining systems between stored and deployed positions, but the restraining nets only prevent the occupant's arms from movement laterally outwardly due to the limited travel of the netting about the occupant's body.
The restraining net system disclosed in the '523 patent, in addition to requiring substantial changes to the ejector seat, must be designed to the general size of the occupant in order to be effective, especially with regards to restraining the movement of the occupant's head, and is considered to be unreliable due to the manner of deployment and complex construction.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an occupant restraining system which can be readily adapted for use on an aircraft ejector seat or the like and which will reliably and efficiently restrain the movement of an occupant's upper limbs, including head, during prerequisite times such as during an ejection sequence.